This large printed circuit board acts as the central communications hub for a system. It provides the physical sockets for the central processing unit, memory modules, and expansion cards, along with traces that form the data buses connecting them. It also houses the chipset, power delivery networks, and basic input/output interfaces needed to make the discrete parts function as a single unit.
Pull the motherboard out of the chassis so we can inspect the traces near the CPU socket for damage.
Also heard as
- mainboard
- mobo
- system board
Related terms
PCB
A laminated board holding and connecting electronic components using conductive traces.
Central processing unit
The primary silicon processor responsible for fetching, decoding, and executing instructions in a computer system.
Northbridge
The historic motherboard chip that managed high-speed communication between the CPU, memory, and graphics.
Southbridge
A historic motherboard controller chip that handles slower peripheral connections.